We still have a pretty good supply of game-worn pants ($15), belts ($1), and socks ($1/pair).

If you’re interested in stopping by the ballpark to take a look, our normal business hours are Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm, but we ask that you please call (315-474-7833) or email (baseball@syracusechiefs.com) to make an appointment.

Finally, there have been many recent inquiries about the availability of the white home jerseys that the team has worn for the last two years. †Look for these jerseys and the black alternate jerseys to become available through our popular in-game jersey raffles during the 2009 season.

It’s a battle of former first round picks at Alliance Bank Stadium tonight as the Chiefs open up a series against the Scranton Yankees. Former Yankee great Ron Guidry will be here and tickets are going quickly with a couple hours to go before the game.

Here’s some notes on tonight’s matchup. Full game notes are available here.

Chiefs Chatter

SERIES HISTORY

The Chiefs and Yankees meet for their fourth series of the year. Two have been splits while Scranton won two of three June 7-9. The previous series in Syracuse became a one-day doubleheader because of rain which was split. The Yankees lead the season series 4-3. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leads the all-time series 189-145 (Chiefs have .434 winning percentage). Scranton is 15-8 against Syracuse as a Yankees affiliate. In this year’s matchups, Buck Coats leads the Chiefs offense (7-23, 2 2B, 2 3B, 3 RBI) while Eric Duncan leads the Yankees (6-20, HR, 6 RBI).

STOP THE TREND

The Chiefs picked up their first series win against Indianapolissince winning three of four games against Richmond June 19-22. In between, Syracuse lost seven series and split two. The Chiefs hadn’t won a road series since May 13-16 when they won three of four games at Knights Stadium. The Chiefs finished 4-4 on their 8-game roadtrip to Indy and Louisville.

TEAM HIGHS

Yesterday’s blowout over Indy had many impressive team performances: The Chiefs tied a season high with two triples (done five times), set a season high 21 hits (previous high 18 June 6th v. Columbus). Syracuse scored more than ten runs for the first time since June 22nd against Richmond, The win was a 13 run win, the largest run differential passing the 12 run 18-6 win May 14th at Charlotte. Every starter had a hit for the first time since a June 29th at Lehigh Valley.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHS

Russ Adams and Danny Sandoval had four hits each yesterday–tying the Chiefs season highs and tying career highs. Sandoval also tied the 2008 Syracuse high with three runs scored. Adams was only a home run away from hitting for the cycle.

THAT SECOND INNING

The 11-run inning was the most of any game this year, passing the nine runs they put on the board in the seventh May 14th at Charlotte. The Chiefs pounded out 12 hits in the inning. The Chiefs had 45 runs in the second inning in the previous 107 games.

LAST ELEVEN RUN INNING

May 1st, 1983 5th inning in 18-14 win at Tidewater: The Chiefs rallied from a 6-0 deficit for the win. Darryl Strawberry hit a homer and drove in four for the Mets. Fred Manrique and Gino Petralli drove in three for the Chiefs improving to 6-9 on the year.

Some notes on tonight’s game which can be heard on Sportsradio 620 WHEN beginning at 7:00 PM. Mike MacDonald (1-0) makes the start for the Chiefs against the Bisons’ John Halama (4-2). Full notes are available on the Chiefs website (syracusechiefs.com) under the stats heading.

SERIES HISTORY

The Chiefs and Bisons meet for their third series of the year–a five game home and home set with two games in Buffalo and three in Syracuse in two days. Syracuse swept a four game series at Dunn Tire Park in April while the Bisons won two of three from the Chiefs at Alliance Bank Stadium in early May. The Chiefs lead the season series 7-4. Buffalo leads the all-time series 463-394 (Chiefs have .460 winning percentage). In the 2008 series, the Chiefs offense is led by Hector Luna (20-44, HR, 8 RBI) while the Bisons are led by Jason Cooper (7-28, 2 HR, 9 RBI)

THRUWAY SERIES

The Chiefs have the current lead in the 2008 Thruway series (Syracuse, Buffalo & Rochester) with a 12-7 combined record. The Red Wings are 11-9 while the Bisons trail with a 8-15 record against their Upstate New York rivals. The last time that the Chiefs own the Thruway series was in 1999. The Bisons have won six of the last eight Thurway season series with Rochester winning the other two.

BEATIN’ UP THE LEFTIES

Among current Chiefs batters, Danny Sandoval leads the way with a .378 average against lefthanders in a Chief uniform (.309 combined between Syracuse and Buffalo). Kevin Mench and Hector Luna also are hitting over .300 against left-handed throwers.

LEFTIES BEATIN’ ‘EM UP

Russ Adams is hitting just .186 against southpaws and Kevin Melillo and Matt Watson are each posting even .200 average against lefthanders in 2008 for Syracuse.

WIN STREAK?

The Chiefs have not won back to back games since June 19-20 against the Richmond Braves. After the 20th, Syracuse has a 7-12 record, increasing their deficit in the division from 1.5 games behind Pawtucket to 9 games trailing the Paw Sox.

If you’re not making the two hour drive down to Scranton, bring the radio along to the fireworks and have a listen to the game on WHEN 620 AM. Here are some notes on tonight’s matchup (Kei Igawa v. Mike MacDonald). Full game notes are available here.

SERIES HISTORY

The Chiefs and Yankees meet for their third series of the year. The two split a doubleheader in late April at Alliance Bank Stadium while Scranton won two of three at home in June. The Yankees lead the season series 3-2 and the Scranton franchise leads the all-time series 188-144 (Chiefs have .434 winning percentage). Scranton is 14-7 against the Chiefs since becoming a Yankees affiliate in 2007. In the 2008 head to head matchups, Buck Coats is pacing the Chiefs offense (6-14, 2 RBI) while Alberto Gonzalex leads the Yankees (4-10, 2 RBI). There has been only one homer hit in the five games (Erik Kratz). The Chiefs have 12 of the 14 extra base hits in the season series as well.

LYDON STEALING AT WILL

Wayne Lydon has stolen 35 bases on the year after a ninth inning theft Wednesday which puts him on pace for 58. That would be the most since Eric Yelding stole 59 in 1988. The all-time record for a Chiefs player in a season is Walt Cazen with 74 stolen bases in 1945. Cazen is also the all-time leader with 140 stolen bases. Lydon sits in third place with 87–five behind Alex Infante.

AVOID THE 3-0 SCORE

The Chiefs have been shut out four times this year. All four shutouts have been by a 3-0 nothing final including the previous time they matched up against Kei Igawa on June 7th. On the other side, the Chiefs have won seven games via shutout–three of them have been by a 2-0 final including opening day.

SLUMPING

Russ Adams is just 6-69 (.087 batting average) since June 1st with only 3 RBI after he had 31 in the first two months of the season. Catcher Curtis Thigpen is 6-42 (.143 batting average) since June 1st. Chip Cannon is 10-69 (.145 batting average) since June 1st and hasn’t hit a home run since May 28th at Richmond.

STREAKING

Outfielder/First Baseman Matt Watson has a ten game hitting streak entering Independence Day. He’s 14-35 (.400) over the stretch. Watson is hitting .361 since June 1st. Danny Sandoval has driven in 21 runs since the first day of June–the most among any Chiefs player.

Also, Robinzon Diaz is on the comeback trail – he’s playing for the GCL Rookie League Blue Jays on rehab and has 10 hits in 19 at-bats.

Bill Murphy and Mike O’Connor match up on the mound for the second start in a row. Five days ago the Chiefs lost 4-3 in ten innings. Neither starter factored in the decision.

GREGG ZAUN JOINS THE TEAM

The Blue Jays catcher joined the Chiefs today on a rehab assignment. Zaun has been on the disabled list for the past two weeks – Curtis Thigpen has filled his roster spot in the big leagues.

COATS NEARING MILESTONE

Entering today’s game, Coats has 899 career minor league hits. The center fielder has five multi-hit games in his last six starts for the Chiefs.

SANDOVAL REFUSES TO STOP

Danny Sandoval’s red-hot start with the Chiefs continued yesterday. He knocked four hits (his first 4-hit game since July 7th, 2005) and slammed his third homer in just 14 games with the Chiefs (full season career high is 8). Sandoval has at least two hits in nine of his fourteen starts for Syracuse since signing with the Blue Jays in late May. It was also the first time a Chiefs player ripped four hits since Joe Inglett did the feat May 3rd against Pawtucket.

FROM THE RANDOM STAT FILE

Yesterday’s game took two hours and 43 minutes which pushed the season total of Chiefs game to 10,036 minutes–an average 2 ours, 45 minutes per game, about 7 minutes less than the MLB average for 2008.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.